Butterfly Effect
by Skull Keeta
Summary: "You have to decide what you want Emily. You can stay here, or you can come with me." In a moment of selfishness, Alison takes Emily with her after she saves her from the barn. However, this decision has serious consequences, and it sets off a chain reaction which ruins everyone's plans, especially -A's. Emison, of course, slightly AU depending on your definition.
1. One Choice

**A/N:** _Howdy there! Since I'm completely obsessed with Emison and everything PLL related, I decided to write about a plot bunny that wouldn't leave me alone. And since there's basically no hope for any more Emison on the show (I'm looking at you Lorenzo) I'm going to create my own. Yeah, you heard me Marlene! I DEFY YOU STARS! *ahem*, excuse me._

 _A small explanation first. Everything is canon up to season 2 episode 12, "Over My Dead Body." Think of this as a sort of prologue. Just a heads up, It doesn't really veer off into AU territory until the last half of the chapter. You'll have to be patient ;)_

 _Only one warning for now: Language._

 ** _The loneliest moment in someone's life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly. - F_** _._ ** _Scott Fitzgerald_**

* * *

Alison, for once was not being overly dramatic when she said she hated her life.

There was some part of her predicament that made her feel better, in the fact that she was finally justified in feeling so terrible. There was a time, forever ago, when she felt guilty for being depressed when her life was essentially perfect. Her family was wealthy, she had perfect friends (compassionate, smart, admiring... loyal) and she was being doused in compliments from every direction.

However, inside she was empty. It took her a long time to realize that no one loved her, they feared her. She used to believe that the difference didn't matter as long as she was on top. It only started to matter once she was alone with no one to turn to. She had no ammunition to use on strangers like she used on her friends, and was forced to use her looks and charm to get what she wanted. It made her feel filthy every time someone looked her over with an appreciative glance or touched her when she didn't invite them to. But she did what she needed to survive, and surviving isn't always pretty.

She was blinded by illusions of grandeur, and evidently had pissed off the wrong person in her rise to the top. She was always fearless and knew exactly what she wanted, and how to get it. She was a demon behind an angels face, with her only goal being to remain on top and in absolute control, which was exactly why A's appearance had shook her to the core and shattered her world.

The control she was in love with was torn from her, and, for the first time in her young life, she was the mouse instead of the cat.

The worst part was that she knew it was her fault. She was vindictive, controlling, manipulative and paranoid during her school days. She was finally getting a taste of her own medicine, and it tasted fucking horrible. She always thought that A was just the universe giving her back everything she dished out; however it stopped being payback and turned into overkill when she was forced to leave town in fear for her life. In one of her more insane moments, she was convinced that A was Satan himself, always knowing exactly what she was doing and what her secrets were. Some of the secrets A taunted her with were things she had never told _anyone_. A always knew just what to say to terrify her. A was her puppet master and she was the puppet, forced to do whatever A said or else everybody would know what she had done.

Alison had never been one to show very much emotion, but once the texts turned into blatant threats of death, she started getting panic attacks. She had always prided herself on being level headed in any situation, but once she started losing control of her own body, the attack fed off of her anxiety of losing control and she found herself shaking and hyperventilating on the bathroom floor. Her mother found her a few minutes later, and immediately had their doctor prescribe Alison anxiety medication. It always made her feel drowsy and made it hard to fall asleep, so she went through her last days in Rosewood barely lucid.

The insomnia she experienced made her highly paranoid and prone to hallucinations, and she found herself jumping at shadows and checking behind all the doors in her house. She could feel her mind start to deteriorate as the texts got more and more hostile. But, Alison was a fantastic actress, and her friends never suspected that anything was off. She used makeup to cover the bags under her eyes, and eye drops to help her eyes look less blood shot.

The first day away from Rosewood felt like a vacation in the most expensive resort in Hawaii, after living your entire life inside a pig pen. The freedom from her responsibilities, from A, from social pressures felt like she just shrugged off a hundred pounds. With some of the money she took from home, she took a bus far away from Rosewood and checked into a motel. She practically floated down the hallway and fell into the bed, sobbing into the surprisingly clean pillows. There were no texts that night, or the next night, or the next... Alison always thought that hope was for idiots. But she was, let's say... cautiously optimistic.

Despite everything Alison was going through, her thoughts always drifted back to her. To Emily.

Just the name made her feel nauseous. She was the one constant in Alison's life since she had known her, the one person who Alison ever truly cared about. Looking back on it all, Alison couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself. Emily was like a puppy, constantly looking at her for affection and validation. It was almost concerning how much Emily trusted her. Alison always knew that their relationship was slightly unhealthy; her need for comfort and abandonment issues were fueled by Emily's loving nature, while Emily's insecurities were sated by the love Alison secretly showered her with in fear of being alone.

Emily was always looking for the good in people, and was possibly the most optimistic person Alison had ever met. Whenever Emily looked at her, she saw the best version of her. It was the person she wanted to be, not the person that she was. It was possibly for this reason that she never even realized when Alison was manipulating her, saying all the right things to wrap her around her little finger. She remembered when she would talk to Emily in that poisoned-honey tone, and she would hang on to every word. Manipulation was the only way Alison knew to make people like her, she was raised on it, even if it left a bad taste in her mouth.

One of her biggest regrets was never allowing their relationship to grow. She treated Emily like she was her dirty secret, kissing her in private out of fear of being caught. She became terrified when Emily started getting more bold, initiating the kisses instead of waiting for Alison to grace her with one. It was one of the reasons she pushed her to start dating Ben. Emily was too concerned with other people's feelings to cheat on him, but she would also never be truly happy with him like she would be with a girl. Alison thought it was genius, trapping Emily in a relationship she didn't want with a boy to ensure that her feelings for Alison would only grow over time with Alison never actually having to commit to anything. She would even laugh behind her hand whenever Ben would go to kiss her and Emily would push him off, leaving him with an annoyed expression on his face. She knew that Ben wouldn't dare break up with Emily, as she was popular and friends with the great Alison DiLaurentis, and he would likely live in shame the rest of his high school career.

As cliche as it sounded, Alison had no idea what she had until it was gone. It was jarring how much being alone stung, how lost she felt when she had no one on her side anymore. There was no Spencer to help her with her problems, there was no Hanna to unload her anger on, there was no Aria to listen to her vent, and there was no Emily to love her.

* * *

Alison reflexively shut her eyes as another pine tree branch flung just by her face. It was just her fucking luck that Jonah chose to tip her off about a goldmine of supplies in the ass end of nowhere. Whipping her phone out, she checked to make sure she was going in the right direction. All she could see in front of her was forest, to the left of her was forest, and to the right of her was, surprise surprise, more forest.

 _I swear to god if he lied to me I'll find that ass and choke him to death,_ Alison fumed.

In her time on the run, Alison had made a few friends and the occasional acquaintance. She tried to stay away from people she didn't know (because, as far as she was concerned, _anyone_ could be A). Jonah, a man in his late 20's, was one of the few people who Alison actually kept in contact with. She had a feeling that he felt sorry for her. A year ago, any kind of pity would have pissed her off. Now though, she didn't care what people thought of her, she only cared what she could get from them. She was surprised just how generous people were when looking into the eyes of a sad, angelic street kid. Jonah, however was a seedy looking guy, with messy brown hair complimented by a permanently scraggly beard. Some of his teeth were yellow, and he had twitchy, beady eyes that were always wide like he was in shock. Alison didn't know if he even owned a shower, as his face was always dirty and he smelled like smoke and alcohol.

One day, one of Alison's missing posters made their way into the current town she was staying in, and Jonah put two and two together. As dumb as he looked, Alison had to give him credit where credit was due. Her 'Vivian Darkbloom' disguise hadn't even phased him. As soon as he found out who she was, he refused to be seen with her in fear that he would get into even more trouble with the law. Instead of helping her directly, he would text her information about where she could get more supplies without being caught. It wasn't necessarily _stealing,_ he would say, it was just... borrowing. Indefinitely.

Alison thought the whole thing was ridiculous. She had been hiding in plain sight for over a year, it wasn't like she was going to get caught talking to some random homeless looking guy in an alleyway. She felt her phone buzz in her hand. Looking down, she skimmed over the text.

 _Are you there yet, V? I've been scoping that barn out for days, I don't think it belongs to anyone. Fucking thing's locked. There's gotta be good shit in there though, right? Who the hell would just leave a perfectly good barn in the middle of nowhere? - J_

Alison scoffed in disbelief. If the 'fucking thing' was locked, how was she expected to get in?

 _I'll let you know if I find anything. Don't get your hopes up though, I'm 90% sure I'm going to be eaten by a bear. - V_

 _If you see a bear, remember to play dead, you've gotten good at that. - J_

Alison snorted. For a dirty twenty-eight year old man, some of Jonah's texts sounded like they came straight from Mona.

Alison was suddenly overcome by intense anger. Mona. Fuck her. Fuck her and her stupid hair and her fucking glasses and her-

Wait.

Alison spotted a break in the trees, seeming to open up into a clearing. The clearing connected to a long, abandoned looking dirt road.

 _Nice, so I could've just taken the road instead of hiking through the forest like Man vs Wild. Great._

As she stepped into the clearing, the first thing she noticed wasn't the barn, but the silver car sitting just outside of it. Something about the car seemed slightly familiar, but she didn't care to dwell on it. She felt her phone go off.

 _Did you get eaten? - J._

 _I'm at the barn. There's another car here, I thought you said this place didn't belong to anyone? - V._

 _I never saw a car there before. Maybe whoever's there can unlock the barn. - J._

Alison rolled her eyes.

 _Genius. I'll just walk up to the barn, ask them to kindly let me in, take all their shit, say 'thank you' and leave. - V._

 _You could always just steal the car. - J._

Alison mulled that over in her head for a few seconds. Then she decided that Jonah was a moron and that stealing an expensive looking car would get her caught faster than turning herself in. But, there wasn't any harm in taking whatever was _in_ the car. Well, no harm for her at least. Carefully listening for any activity in the barn, Alison tip toed over to the car and peaked inside the window. All she could see was a doll in the back seat.

 _Jesus. That isn't totally creepy at all. Wait, that doll kind of looks like..._

Alison stopped that train of thought in it's tracks. She couldn't think about... _her_ right now, not when she was barely holding it together as it was. She went to open the door, slightly surprised to find it unlocked, and looked around for anything useful. Deciding to check the glove box, she jumped when a driver's license fell down to the floor. Picking it up she abruptly felt her blood turn to ice as her stomach plummeted through the floor of the car.

 _Emily Fields._

Everything suddenly came flooding back as Emily's face stared up at her from the card. Her fear of being caught, her flattery at Emily's devotion, her anger at Emily's boldness, all of her delusions and anxiety came rushing back so fast that she found it hard to breath. _Oh fuck not another panic attack, please not now_ Alison thought desperately. Attempting to calm herself down, Alison opened the car door and stumbled into the fresh air, taking a deep breath and immediately wrinkling her nose as an acrid, gaseous stench hit her.

 _The barn._

Alison was taken over by a panic so intense she was surprised she didn't immediately die of a heart attack. She knew of people who tried to kill themselves in their garages by leaving the car running, and there was no way to tell how long Emily had been in there, if she was in there at all. She felt her phone go off, but it was ignored as she raced toward the barn. The door was heavy, but she barely noticed as the adrenaline pumping through her system guided her movements. As light spilled into the cramped space, Alison looked around wildly for any sign of Emily. She first noticed the running car, and nearly tripped over the body at her feet.

 _Oh god. Oh, fucking hell._

Alison was gripped by a severe terror that ripped through her body leaving her nearly destroyed. She reached down and grabbed Emily, grunting at the effort of dragging her full weight. She pulled her away until she was exhausted, collapsing in the grass a ways away from the barn. The smell of the gas clung to her hair and clothing. Reaching out, she didn't notice how badly her hand was shaking as she searched for a heartbeat, looked for a sign that Emily was breathing, a pulse, _anything_ that showed signs of life. She finally saw Emily's chest rise shallowly, and the relief that Alison felt made her gasp aloud.

A million questions hit her at once. Did A know where she was? Did A tell Jonah to send her here? Did Emily even know how she got there? Alison wanted to cry. She was so sure that Emily was safer, that they were _all_ safer now that she was gone and A had calmed down. They had always been about threats and cryptic messages, she had never seen A actively try to kill someone. She should have known not to be hopeful. Was this A finally getting her revenge? By taking away the most precious thing to her?

Her phone went off again. Alison snarled.

"Fuck off, Jonah." She hissed. Her eyes went wide when the sound of her voice caused Emily to shift in her lap. Her eyes opened, and Alison stared into the eyes of the girl she was supposed to leave behind. Her eyes were unfocused, and Emily looked around in what Alison assumed was confusion. She suddenly started to panic.

 _What are you doing? You're supposed to be dead, remember?!_ Her consciousness screamed. But it was too late to back out now. Alison was finally holding Emily after what felt like a hundred years, and she wasn't keen on letting go just yet. Her heart started beating wildly as Emily's eyes finally focused on her, widening in surprise and confusion, her brain not quite processing what she was seeing.

"It's okay, you're with me now," Alison said. Except there wasn't anything remotely okay about the situation they were in, except for the fact that Emily was alive.

"Alison," Emily whispered, almost reverently. If she wasn't already sitting down, Alison was sure her knees would have buckled from the sound of Emily's voice, her face, her eyes, her _everything._ She was so gorgeous, so innocent and she was looking at Alison like she was the only thing that mattered. Except, Alison didn't deserve to be looked at like that by anyone. Especially not her. She felt her eyes become blurry with tears.

"I missed you so much, Emily. I think I missed you the most." As Emily attempted to sit up, Alison gently held her down.

"Rest. It's what you need." If Emily kept looking at her like that, she might just explode.

"I never told you this, but... you were always my favourite. Nobody loved me as much as you did." She wished Emily knew how much she meant those words. She just never had the courage to say them out loud because people would look at her wrong. Alison felt briefly disgusted. Those problems seemed so far away now, so small that she was amazed she ever worried about them in the first place. If she was just less of a bitch, none of this would have ever happened and she could be living a life of bliss. When everyone else was afraid of her, she always felt that Emily was the only one who really cared about her as a person, and not a status symbol.

"Is this what dying is?" Emily asked, and Alison felt like laughing. It surely felt like she was dying because soon, Alison would have to leave Emily all over again.

"That bitch thinks this is what you really want. To be completely free of A."

"Do you know who A is?"

"Of course I do." At least, she had a strong inkling of who it was.

"You have to tell me," Emily said. Alison was starting to get nervous, Emily was becoming more and more lucid and soon she would realize that she wasn't dreaming.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why?" Emily breathed.

"Because, two can only keep a secret, if one of them is dead." Emily's eyes started to flutter as she slowly started to lose her grip on consciousness again. Alison felt old feelings of possessiveness rise to the surface. The last thing she wanted to do was leave Emily again, but she knew that she couldn't stay. As much as she hated to say it, she wasn't sure that being with Emily again was worth the fallout from her being discovered alive and all of her lies coming to the surface.

"Sweet Emily..." Leaning down, Alison pressed a feather light kiss against Emily's lips. They were so soft, and Alison felt slightly nostalgic as she tasted Emily's lip gloss. She always wore something fruity, normally strawberry or orange, her favourite flavours.

"You have to decide what you want, Emily. You can stay here... or you can come with me," Alison said, feeling more selfish than she ever had. But, the way that Emily was looking at her, like she was an angel or a dream come to life... she had to want this too on some level, right? Alison decided quickly, turning her phone on and sending a text to Jonah. She just hoped that Emily would forgive her.

* * *

Hanna had never felt so terrible in her life. Which was saying something, considering the torture -A had been putting all of them through. After she told Isabel before the wedding service about her father's affair with his ex-wife, her mother, the look he gave her as he turned to leave made her feel less than an inch tall. The fact that there was no accusation in his gaze, only sorrow and disappointment made her feel like impaling herself on the church steeple. She turned, momentarily distracted as she heard her phone go off.

 _457 Grover Rd. -A._

Hanna frowned in confusion, until her brain jumped into gear and she was suddenly reminded of a text that -A had sent her earlier. Feeling guilty and slightly nauseous, she opened her inbox and read over the other text from her tormentor.

 _She's about to run out of air. -A._

 _Oh god,_ she thought. _Is this about Dr. Sullivan? Emily? Fuck. Fuckity fuck._ Quickly rushing out of the back room she had previously used to spill her dad's secret to Isabel, she made a bee-line for Spencer and Aria, her anxiety levels rising when she realized that Emily hadn't yet arrived. Grabbing both of their arms, she pulled them outside.

"Whoa!" Spencer exclaimed. "Where's the fire?"

"The _fire,"_ Hanna replied, leading them to a secluded corner behind the church,"is right _here."_ She shoved her phone into Spencer's face. Swiftly reading over the words in front of her, her face paled as the intention behind them was made clear. Unnerved by Spencer's reaction, Aria grabbed the phone from Hanna's hands and read the text over. Her eyes widened.

"You don't think that means..." She began.

"No. No way," Spencer interrupted quickly, a little bit in denial. "-A's messed with us before. There's a chance that they're screwing with us again."

"Do you really want to take that chance, Spence?" Hanna retorted. "Listen. A few minutes before I got that message, -A sent me an address. It _might_ be where Emily is."

"But why would -A give us that information? Aria asked. "Why would they help us?"

"They aren't really helping us if they're the reason Emily's not here in the first place," Spencer sighed. "But I think it's worth investigating."

"Who are we, Inspector Gadget?" Hanna replied derisively. "Why don't you just call her phone?"

"I already tried that when you were gone," Aria replied. "It rang a few times then went to her voice mail." Her voice lowered and took on an anxious tone. "Guys, I really think she's in trouble."

"Calm down. This could just be about Dr. Sullivan," Hanna pointed out.

"And that makes it better?" Spencer replied angrily.

"I'm just saying-"

"Guys, stop," Aria intervened. "Regardless of who -A is talking about, we should see wherever this address leads. I'm not willing to take any chances on this."

"Alright, alright," Hanna conceded. "But if this is a trap, I'm totally saying I told you so."

* * *

Hanna had no idea how she let this happen. One second they were looking for Emily or signs of Dr. Sullivan, and the next they're covered head to toe in filth and sitting in the police station. All they ended up finding was a shovel and a set of coordinates, which led them to a total set up by -A and got them arrested. The minute they had started digging she should have known that something was off. But seeing that tube in the ground, she had lost all reason and started digging with Aria and Spencer. They were all gasping and letting out cries of horror as they slowly uncovered what she was worried was a grave, and were then greeted by a swarm of police officers and a helicopter which blinded them with a search light.

Man, she was really starting to hate the cops in this town.

She glared up at the two way screen at the other end of the interrogation room, knowing that Garrett was probably watching on the other side. She tried in vain to wipe some some of the filth off of her hands, but only succeeded in spreading most of the dirt around. She stared at the screen again, picturing Garrett's smirking face and began to throw herself into a rage. Spencer, noticing the signs of a Hanna-meltdown, placed her hand on Hanna's arm and shook her head; getting angry wouldn't help them right now. Hanna didn't think it could get any worse. One of her best friends was missing and there was the ever-present risk of being sent to jail.

And then Detective Wilden walked into the room.

"Did you miss me?" He asked, a creepy self-satisfied smirk on his face. Hanna felt like bashing his skull into the table. He was supposed to be fired. He was gone.

"This doesn't just look bad, it _is_ bad," he began, and the three girls felt the beginning feelings of dread settle into their stomachs. "Homicide is a capital offence in the state of Pennsylvania, and you girls are going _down."_ He paused for what Hanna assumed was dramatic effect. God, she _hated_ this guy.

"When Alison DiLaurentis was murdered she was hit in head so hard that it made an indentation in her skull. I've given you guys so many chances to just be honest with me, but evidence doesn't lie." Hanna shifted uncomfortably. She wasn't Alison's biggest fan, but she was one of her best friends and hearing what had happened to her was jarring.

Alison always seemed so untouchable.

"We've known all along what the murder weapon was. Tonight we caught you with it." Wilden turned to the other officer in the room and took the shovel from his hands, which was contained in a see through bag used for preserving evidence. Hanna felt like she was about to fly off the handle and go straight for Wilden's throat. A girl can only be accused of murdering one of her best friends so many times before she starts to lose it. The smirk from the detective's face was gone, replaced with a glare so intense Hanna almost felt like wilting under it. He suddenly switched topics.

"I can't help but notice that one of you is missing," he began casually, as if talking about the weather. "Where's the fourth musketeer?" Hanna considered lying to him, but she had no idea what to say. None of them knew what to say, and if they made up some lie about Emily being somewhere else and were proven wrong, they would be in even more trouble.

"...We don't know," Spencer said hesitantly. Aria looked at her in surprise, likely expecting that she would tell him some sort of fabricated story.

"Well I do. _I_ think that your friend committed the murder. _I_ think that you're covering for her, and _I_ think that-" Just as Wilden was about to continue on his rant, an officer came into the room.

"Detective, you're needed outside," he said.

"Not now, I'm a little occupied," he replied in annoyance. The other officer looked at him uncomfortably.

"It's important," he urged. Wilden looked at him expectantly.

"It's.. about page five of the DiLaurentis autopsy," He said quietly. Wilden's eyes widened slightly.

"Stay there. I'll be right back," he said in an eerily calm way before leaving the room with the other officer. The three girls let out sighs of relief at finally being left alone. Aria spoke up first.

"Why the hell did you say that?" She demanded, looking at Spencer accusingly.

"Well what was I supposed to say?" Spencer returned angrily.

"You didn't have to say _anything!"_ Aria said, a little too loudly. Hanna shushed the two of them.

"Be quiet!" She hissed. "We're still being watched."

"Well _excuse me_ if I wanted to tell the truth for once," Spencer whisper-shouted. "What were we supposed to say? That Emily's with her parents in Texas? That she's busy? Or maybe that she's sun tanning in Aruba!" Aria continued to glare at her. "They've probably already called her parents. What are we supposed to say when they get here?" Aria finally conceded with a weary sigh. Hanna spoke up in an attempt to remedy the situation.

"Listen, guys, all they have on us is that shovel. That's not enough to put us in jail... is it?" She said, looking at Spencer.

"What are you looking at me for?"

" _Duh,_ you're the one with the big-shot lawyer mom! Say something!" Spencer rolled her eyes.

"I don't know, it's not like I sit in on my mom's court cases," she said sarcastically. "But you're right. The evidence is completely circumstantial." Hanna looked at her expectantly.

"Well? What does that mean?"

"It means that we can't be directly linked to the murder. Everything that Wilden is going on is based in theories and speculation. My mom will probably be able to get it all thrown out." Spencer's brows furrowed. "It's so weird how obsessed he is with Ali's murder, though. One of our _alive_ friends is missing and he's making it all about her."

"Maybe he's just a shitty cop," Hanna said sardonically. Spencer noticed that Aria had begun to stare into space.

"What's the matter?" She asked. "Aria?" She gently shook the dark haired girl's arm, breaking her from her trance.

"W-what?" Spencer and Hanna looked at her worriedly. "It's really nothing... just, do you think that -A could have kidnapped her?" Hanna's face softened, noticing that Aria was on the brink of tears. Spencer however, had less tact.

"We're talking about the same -A that ran Hanna over with a car and forced us to do terrible things that we didn't want to do. I think they're capable of anything." Hanna elbowed her in the arm, nodding towards Aria who was now beginning to cry.

"Oh jeez, um, I mean, I'm sure that Emily's fine. She's smart. Intuitive." Spencer was beginning to look decidedly uncomfortable.

"Way to go, Spence," Hannah barbed.

"It's not her fault," Aria said, wiping away the tear tracks which had left clear trails through the dirt on her face. "I _knew_ one of us should have gone with her. She never got a doll in that box, -A could still be targeting her!"

"-A already targeted her!" Hanna shot back heatedly. "... Hasn't she been through enough?" She finished, sounding miserable. As she watched detective Wilden come back through the door and lean over the table, Hanna knew that this night was far from over.

She just hoped that Emily was somewhere safe.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Well, that's the end of chapter one. This is mostly a filler chapter, the real stuff starts soon. So uh, you know, stick around or whatever. (I'm not very convincing, sorry.)_

 _Also, just an FYI for anyone who isn't familiar with the name, Jonah is not technically an OC. He was used on the show as an informant to Vivian, I'm just using his character for the purpose of the story. I just feel like Ali needs a friend who isn't someone she is manipulating like Noel._


	2. Butterfly Effect

**A/N:** _Thanks so much for the follows and favourites! A special thanks for those who reviewed, your comments made my day :)_

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Pretty Little Liars._

 _ **Every parting is a form of death; as every reunion is a type of heaven. - Tyron Edwards.** _

* * *

"I don't think you understand, Lucas," Mona said, pacing in the slightly cramped motel room. "This is a monumental fuck-up. This is a monumental _pain in my ass!"_ Lucas winced at the volume of Mona's voice.

"Calm down! Do you want someone to hear us?" He said, more frightened than angry. He hated this place, the Lost Woods Resort always gave him the creeps, and it was only made worse by all of the photos of Alison attached to every inch of the walls. Some of them were pictures of the other girls, but they were lost in the sea of faces belonging to _her._

"Jesus, you really don't get it, do you," Mona laughed. It was a terrible sound, caught halfway between hysteria and actual amusement. "Emily Fields is _missing._ She might actually be _dead._ Do you understand that?" Lucas shook his head.

"I-I thought that was what you wanted-" Mona cut him off in a rage.

"That's not what I wanted, you _idiot!"_ She took a deep breath and counted to ten in an attempt to calm herself down. "How do I put this into words that you'll understand... she's missing, so the police are already involved. But if she's dead, this will turn into a full blown investigation and we might get found out."

"W-what do you mean?" He asked uncomfortably.

"I _mean,_ that anything getting traced back to us was never an issue, because those _bitches_ wouldn't dare to go to the police on their own. They know that we'd spill every dirty secret that they're trying to hide. Now, having the police involved is unavoidable because she's missing. Do you understand why I'm so _fucking_ mad now, Hermie?" Lucas winced at the old nick-name Alison had branded him with.

"You need to fix this. Preferably sooner rather than later, got it?" Lucas nodded wordlessly.

" _Good._ Because you know what will happen if you don't make me happy, right Hermie?" Lucas swallowed and looked away, anywhere but at her. Mona smiled.

"That's right. Everyone will know that you've been selling tests on the side. You'll get expelled, and I'll make sure that no other school will ever take you in. Daddy would be so disappointed. I will _ruin your life."_ Mona continued, unperturbed by the threat she just made. "If somebody goes down for this, It's not going to be me. So you better hope that whatever you come up with works." Lucas glared at her angrily.

"What were you hoping to accomplish with this, Mona? If she didn't go missing, she would have died in that barn!" Mona frowned in annoyance.

"No she wouldn't have, I just meant to spook them. That's why I texted Hanna the address. They would have gotten her out in time, that was the plan." Lucas scoffed.

"It was a shitty plan to begin with! What makes Emily so special, anyway?"

"Oh, Lucas," Mona said patronizingly. "It's not about her, it's about what she _represents."_ He looked at her confused and, although he wouldn't admit it, a little scared. _  
_

"...And what's that?" Mona turned away from him and smirked.

"Let me tell you a story," She said, absently fiddling with a picture of Alison on the wall.

"There was once a girl named Alison who liked to play with dolls. _But_ , she thought, _why play with dolls when you can play with people?_ " Mona chuckled but there was no humour in it. "It must be fun to mess with people who feel a lot when you don't feel anything at all. But -A will make her pay for that. -A will make her pay for _everything."_ Turning around, Mona walked over to a small closet and took out a generic black hoodie.

"All this time, Alison thought she was the Queen and all of us were her pawns. But, what she doesn't realize is that after the game ends, the Queen and the pawns all go back into the same box." She pulled the sweatshirt over her clothes, and raised the hood so it covered her face.

"We have to get out in front of this. I am going to turn this unfortunate situation into a positive one. Come on." She threw Lucas another hoodie. Lucas sighed as he put it on, wishing above all else that Mona would just leave him alone.

* * *

Alison shifted awkwardly in the uncomfortable heat of Jonah's car. Emily was still unconscious in the back seat, but her breathing was steady. Alison hoped that she woke up soon, because if she didn't, she would need to be taken to a hospital and then everything would be ruined. People would start asking questions, and there was the constant risk that Alison be spotted by someone who knew her. It wouldn't have been the first time of course, but those other times hardly counted. Her friends had been barely conscious when she visited and likely didn't remember much. It was a little funny, actually. _Hey, it's your friend who's been dead for a year dropping in to say hi. Don't tell anyone, they'll just think you're crazy._

It took an embarrassing amount of begging to convince Jonah to pick her up and take Emily with them. He was hesitant to talk to her even when she was in her Vivian disguise, but with another girl to worry about, Alison had to make him quite the offer. She still owed him a lot more money than she had for information he had gotten her, so she promised him double to take them. However, there was no way she would ever be able to pay him that money as long as she was on the run, and on some level she thinks he knew that. It was a good thing he was a big believer in karma or else she would be shit out of luck.

She knew that Emily would be angry with her after she woke up and the initial shock wore off. As soon as Emily's phone started to blow up with texts and calls, Jonah made her leave it behind. She decided to leave it in Emily's car, next to that creepy doll in the back seat. The most unnerving part of it all was what the doll said when Alison pulled it's string out of curiosity. She ultimately decided to take the doll with her, intending to ask Emily about it when she woke up.

 _I'm taking you to her. Go alone._

That was the only thing it said, and Alison had no idea what it meant. She was at least ninety percent sure that -A was involved, but that wasn't the problem. The thing that concerned her the most was that she didn't know who the doll was referencing. It could not have been her, she had been successfully hidden under -A's radar for a long time and even if she wasn't, it would be unlike -A to expose someone's secret without a little bit of blackmail involved. It just wasn't their style.

"Listen, Viv," Jonah started, breaking Alison from her thoughts. "You can stay at my place until your friend wakes up but no longer than a few hours." Alison nodded. It was way more than she expected.

"Thanks, Jonah." He looked at her a little awkwardly.

"It's nothing personal, you know how Lisa is..." Alison nodded. Lisa, Jonah's wife was an extremely jealous woman who would likely divorce him if she caught two attractive young women in his house. In fact, Alison was certain of it. She would rather climb down the fire escape with Emily slung over her shoulder than deal with that.

As Jonah pulled into a dingy parking lot across from his apartment building, Alison turned in her seat to see if Emily was awake. She reached over and shook her a little, but her eyes didn't open.

"Uh, Jonah..." Alison said, motioning towards Emily.

"Yep," he replied, opening the back door and picking the unconscious girl up. She shifted a little in his grasp, but still refused to awaken. Quickly opening the door for him, Alison shivered as she came face to face with the familiar dimly lit halls and permanent smell of dust. Jonah really deserved to live in a better place than this.

Coming up to his apartment, _34,_ Alison opened the door which was already unlocked (not like there's anything decent to steal, anyway) and reached in to turn on the lights. Jonah swiftly entered and kicked the door behind him shut, motioning for Alison to lock it. He deposited Emily on the couch and collapsed into an armchair, rubbing his unshaven face and reaching for an already open beer on the small table to his side. Alison wrinkled her nose as he lit a cigarette, and Jonah grinned at her expression.

"My place, my rules, kid."

Alison's attention shifted to the caramel skinned girl on the couch. She gently sat down beside her, looking at her face. It had looked rather pale after she was unconscious, but the colour was starting to return to her cheeks, restoring their slight rose quality. Alison gently nudged her arm.

"Come on, Em. Wake up for me." A quiet whine came from Emily's throat, and her eyes began to flutter. The butterflies in Alison's stomach were going wild. Jonah looked over at them, feeling a little embarrassed at their intimacy.

"I'll uh, leave you two alone for a minute." He made a quick exit, taking his now warm beer with him. Alison barely heard him, all of her attention focused on Emily. She felt like hyperventilating when Emily's intense, onyx coloured eyes finally opened, staring blankly up at the ceiling.

* * *

Aria drove in silence, Hanna beside her and Spencer in the backseat. Hanna absently switched through several radio stations, while Spencer stretched her legs out across the seat with her head leaning against the window. They were heading towards Emily's house, this being the only chance they would have to search her room without her parents being home. They decided to go at night, hoping that the darkness would prove enough cover to hide them. Hanna sighed when she found nothing worthwhile to listen to.

"How are we even going to get in to her house?" Spencer asked.

"She keeps a spare key outside," Aria answered. She had seen Emily use it several times, after she got tired of being accidentally locked out of her house for forgetting her keys. Aria parked her car at the end of Emily's block, and the three got out.

"What are we even planning on looking for?" Hanna asked.

"I don't know, maybe Emily left something behind? There's gotta be some clue of where she is in her room or something."

"We aren't Sherlock Holmes," Spencer said. "We aren't going to find a trail of breadcrumbs that lead us straight to her. People don't tend to do that when they're taken off the street in the middle of the day." Aria glared at her.

"We don't actually _know_ if -A took her or not." She said, firm in her belief that Emily was going to show up in the next day or two perfectly fine. Hanna grinned briefly at a stray thought.

"You know, if Maya wasn't at that weird camp I'd think that she and Emily ran away to elope." Spencer cracked a smile.

"I don't think she'd do that."

"Well, you never know. You know what they say about lesbians and U-hauls..." Spencer laughed, but the amusement died down when they came upon Emily's house.

"We should go around back, if someone sees us go inside when no-one's home it'll look mega suspicious," Hanna whispered. Spencer and Aria nodded in agreement.

"Okay, just let me grab the key," Aria whispered back. As the other two girls crouched down and made their way to the back of the house, Aria sneakily made her way towards the front door and reached down to turn over a normally inconspicuous looking rock. She sighed in relief when she found that the key was still there, not keen on having to resort in breaking in through Emily's bedroom window. Grabbing it, she made her way around into the back yard where she found the other girls waiting by the door.

"And... voila!" She said, opening the door which lead into a dark kitchen. As the three entered, she went to turn the lights on before Spencer stopped her.

"Don't, having random lights turn on is going to look just as suspicious as going in through the front door." Aria sighed.

"Alright, alright." She settled on turning her phone on and using the bright screen to see. The other two followed her lead, the three screens proving effective in providing enough light to navigate their way through the kitchen and into the living room. Spencer stopped when she noticed that Hanna was no longer following them. Turning around, she frowned in disbelief.

"Hanna, what the hell?" She whisper-shouted. Turning away from the fridge, Hanna looked at the other two sheepishly.

"I can't help it, I get hungry when I'm nervous."

"Emily is _missing_ and you're going to raid her fridge?"

"I eat when I'm sad!" Hanna snapped. Spencer continued to glare at her, and she finally conceded with an annoyed sigh, shutting the fridge door.

"Eating your feelings isn't going to help, you know," Spencer said. Hanna laughed self deprecatingly.

"You don't have to tell me that, I'm the one who went to fat camp, remember?" Spencer stopped her glaring, feeling slightly bad at touching what was still a sore spot for the blonde.

"Come on, we need to hurry," Aria urged. The girls followed her up the stairs, and they made their way towards Emily's room. Opening the door, Aria winced as it creaked slightly. She was relieved, however, when she saw that the room looked relatively normal. She didn't know what she expected, but she had pessimistic thoughts of finding the room completely trashed by -A.

The girls went their separate ways after they entered, eyes roaming along the floor. Hanna went to check her closet, Spencer looked through Emily's bags and Aria crouched down the look under the bed. There was not a thing out of the ordinary, it looked exactly the same as it always did. Spencer turned around when she heard Hanna gasp, sounding horrified. They heard a bump as Aria, still under the bed hit her head in surprise at the sudden noise. Groaning, she crawled out from under the bed and stood up.

"Owww," she whined, rubbing the now sore spot on her head. She looked at her friends who were frozen in shock, phones pointed towards Emily's mirror. Turning, Aria's hand jumped to her mouth, covering it in shock. There was a message written on the mirror in what Aria knew to be Jungle Red.

 _One down, Three to go. -A._

* * *

Emily didn't understand what her senses were telling her. She was staring at an unfamiliar dirty ceiling, and the air was filled with the smell of cigarette smoke. But there was something else there, a certain lavender scent...

She tried to look around, but her head was suddenly filled with a searing pain as her vision blurred. She groaned out a pitiful sound, her entire body aching. She felt something soft brush her cheek, and realized that it was someone's hand. It felt like it took all of her strength just to try and sit up, but something held her down.

"Lay down. You need to rest." As she processed the words, her hazy brain was able to piece together that it was female. The voice was soft and slightly anxious sounding, like she was nervous. She decided it was the nicest sound she had ever heard.

"How do you feel?" The voice asked. Emily tried to swallow, and found that her throat felt like sandpaper. Wincing, Emily croaked out, "thirsty." She felt someone get up from the couch and heard the sound of footsteps. Feeling her limbs loosen up slightly, Emily sat up against the armrest of the couch and rubbed her eyes. Looking around, she started to panic slightly as she noticed she was in a seedy looking apartment, one that she didn't recognize.

Emily looked up as she heard somebody walk back into the room, and felt her mind go blank. It was like she was having an out of body experience, except that this was real and her mind just refused to believe it. Emily was dead. She had to be dead.

"...Alison?" She asked, her voice still scratchy. The blonde haired girl handed her a cup of water and Emily took it, her body working on autopilot. As she drank, her eyes took in all of the details of Alison's face. If she was dreaming. She was going to make every second count.

She looked a lot rougher than she remembered, a few cuts here and there with a light coat of dirt in some spots. Emily couldn't imagine Alison looking anything less than perfect, her hair was always done immaculately and her makeup was done to perfection, but now, she looked... worn out.

"Are you okay? How do you feel?" Alison asked worryingly. Emily was just... staring at her, and it was making her a little self conscious. She didn't look _that_ bad, did she? Emily just blinked in response, and reached out a hand to touch Alison's face.

She had to make sure that she was real. She didn't want to waste a second and risk waking up before whatever twisted dream she was having ended.

"Is this a dream? Am I dead?" Emily asked. If this apartment was heaven, she would have to have a serious talk with god.

Alison smiled and Emily's heart melted.

"I missed you so much, Emily," Alison admitted. Emily's eyes widened as the familiar words brought on a memory.

 _"I never told you this, but... you were always my favourite. Nobody loved me as much as you did."_

 _"...Because, two can only keep a secret, if one of them is dead."_

 _"You have to decide what you want, Emily. You can stay here... or you can come with me."_

She suddenly felt like an idiot. "It was you! You were there... you pulled me out of that barn!" Alison nodded encouragingly.

"Then... this is real. You're alive." Emily felt her vision become blurry with tears, and, before Alison could react, Emily was in her arms. She felt her neck and shirt become wet as Emily cried into her shoulder. A few seconds later, Emily let her go and wiped her tears dry, relishing in Alison's familiar scent of lavender.

"We have to tell the others! Hanna, Aria, Spencer... they'll be so happy." Emily looked around, quickly realizing that she didn't have her phone, or anything at all.

"Hey now, slow down," Alison said hesitantly.

"What do you mean, slow down? Ali, they _need_ to know." Emily's brow furrowed. Alison sighed.

"No, they don't. They can't." Emily's face twisted into an expression of anger. Alison quickly continued before Emily had a chance to go off on her.

"Em, it isn't like that. It's not safe for them to know." Emily's brow furrowed. The girl across from her looked scared, more scared than she had ever seen her.

"Alison, _please_ who's doing this to you? Who's making you stay away? You can trust me!" She pleaded.

"I know I can. That's why I did what I did," the blonde answered vaguely.

"Did what you did? What do you mean? Saved me?" Alison shook her head, feeling a little apprehensive.

"No, I mean... listen, Emily, please don't be mad," Alison said, feeling like she was nine and about to tell her mother that she broke her favourite vase.

"You're starting to scare me Ali," Emily answered, looking worried for her. Alison felt her spirits rise; classic Emily. Always worried for others, even after waking up in a strange place after someone tried to kill her.

"You have to understand, I couldn't just leave you there. I could have texted one of the girls from your phone, I know that, but I couldn't leave you unconscious in the middle of nowhere." Emily nodded slowly.

"...Right, and I'm glad you did. If you weren't there I'd be dead. What are you so scared for?" She asked, reaching out and placing her hand on Alison's arm. Alison lowered her head.

"You don't understand, Em." Alison raised her sapphire gaze to meet Emily's.

"You can't go back."

* * *

Hanna didn't know how many times it was going to take for her to be brought into the police station until she killed somebody, but she was definitely getting there. Whoever was going to question them decided to split them up this time, so Hanna was left to sit by herself in the interrogation room. She was the first to go in, Aria and Spencer sitting outside waiting for their turn. She absolutely _hated_ the looks that they would get whenever they entered the precinct, like _oh, there go those girls again, what a surprise._ They didn't even let her take her phone in with her, and she was forced to sit there awkwardly for what had been twenty minutes. She stared at the clock and watched the big hand slowly go around, the ticking slowly driving her up the wall. She jumped when the door finally opened and revealed one of the last people she wanted to see.

 _Garrett._

Hanna fumed. The only thing that would have been worse was if Jenna had walked in, cane clacking on the floor and large sized glasses hiding her expression. She would have even preferred _Wilden,_ at least she always knew what he was after and how he felt about her. Garrett though, was always so aloof and was obviously hiding a lot of things and generally being suspicious. She just wasn't sure if those secrets were dangerous yet or not. Garrett took a seat across from her, and Hanna decided that she would have the first word.

"Where's Wilden?" She asked. Garrett looked up from his files.

"Wilden isn't here. He wasn't reinstated permanently, he's just acting as chief officer for the DiLaurentis case." He answered. Hanna wasn't satisfied.

"He was the one who questioned us last time," she pointed out.

"Well, yes, that's because we found you with evidence pertaining to his case. No matter how hard he tries to bully his way into things, he can't be apart of cases that he isn't involved in," he said, seeming almost amused by Wilden's lack of power.

"Well," Garrett said. "Let's get started, this shouldn't take very long." He opened the files, briefly reading them over.

"Emily, as you know has been missing for over twenty-four hours. We've brought you in for questioning because as far as we know, she was with you getting ready for a wedding before she disappeared, correct?" Hanna considered lying, but ultimately decided not to. She didn't know the story the other two girls were going to tell and if they all told him different ones, they would be done for.

"Yes." Garrett waited for a moment. When she didn't elaborate, he continued.

"And... she didn't say anything about where she was going?" He asked.

"No. I gave her the address to the church, she said she was on her way but she never got there."

"She never acted suspicious? Did you get the impression that anything was off?"

"No," she answered, which was the truth. Emily was acting normal. Well, as normal as any of them could due to the circumstances.

"Are you sure? She didn't seem scared, or nervous about something?"

"No," Hanna replied. Garrett sighed at the short and unhelpful replies. He knew this would be difficult. He decided to change tactics.

"Emily's car was found parked outside a barn at 457 Grover Rd. That's very close to where you girls were picked up," he said, sounding cautious. Hanna felt like cursing. This was looking very bad.

"The barn was searched but all the officers found was a car that was still running. Do you know anything about that?" Hanna tensed at the slightly accusatory tone Garrett's voice had adopted.

"No. I really have no idea what you're talking about," she sighed, which wasn't a total lie. She knew about the car, but she had no idea what it was doing there. When they had found Emily's car but no Emily, they had feared the worst. They had called her name and searched everywhere, but found no other sign of her.

"And Emily never mentioned anything about this barn? You don't know any other place she would have gone?" Hanna thought hard, but she couldn't think of anywhere plausible. Emily's favourite place seemed to be the pool at the school where she would frequently practice, but she doubted that Emily was there hiding in her gym locker. She shook her head in response.

"You don't seem to know very much about someone who's supposed to be one of your best friends," he said, his tone suspicious. Hanna felt a surge of anger.

"If you did your fucking job right she would have been found by now!" She said, her voice quickly rising in volume. The other officer who was standing at the wall moved forward in warning, but Garrett waved his hand at him.

"I'm not psychic, Hanna. The only way we're going to find her is if you and your friends cooperate." Her eyes narrowed.

"I _am_ cooperating. I've told you everything that I know." Garrett huffed, and moved to rise from his chair, closing his files.

"That's it for now. You'd better hope your friends stories match yours," he said, but his tone wasn't threatening, it was almost like he _wanted_ them to leave the station unscathed. Hanna rose from her sitting position, and Garrett opened the door for her. Walking out of the room, Spencer and Aria's eyes lit up as they saw their friend exit. Garrett motioned for Spencer next, and the brunette released a breath as she got up. She looked back at them before she entered, looking scared. Hanna gave her a smile to try and make her feel better, but it didn't reach her eyes. As soon as the door closed, Aria was on her.

"What happened? What did you say?" The girl asked.

"I didn't say anything. I told him the truth, but he didn't ask for much." Aria sighed in relief.

"That's good. Spencer and I were talking about what we were going to say, but we didn't know what kind of questions to prepare for," she smiled briefly.

"I'm just glad we don't have to talk to Wilden. I might have actually strangled that guy." Hanna nodded silently in response, distracted by her thoughts.

"Han..." the other girl started. Hanna turned to look at her and was startled to see the beginning of tears in the other girl's eyes.

"What's the matter?" She asked. "Garrett isn't _that_ scary."

"Where do you think she is?" Aria asked, ignoring the blonde's statement. Hanna's expression turned solemn.

"I don't know. Maybe she finally took a hint and got out of this town," she said, attempting to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"I'm _serious_! That message was pretty clear. -A might have actually..." she trailed off, not even wanting to _think_ about the possibility that her friend could be dead.

"Listen, -A might be psychotic, but I don't think they're a murderer," Hanna said, more for Aria's benefit than her own. She didn't even believe her own words.

"Not a murderer? Are we just going to forget that -A probably killed you know who?"

"She's not Voldemort Aria, you can say her name."

"No, I can't," Aria replied, tears now making their way down her cheeks, "because that would make it real. She's dead, and now Emily might be too," the tears were running freely now. She quickly attempted to wipe them away.

"Don't say that. You make it sound like one of us might be next," Hanna said. Although her words were steady, she was beginning to experience the horrible feeling of terror form in the pit of her stomach, the same terror she had felt when Alison went missing. She put her arm around Aria's shoulders, and the hazel-eyed girl leaned her head against her.

"It'll be alright, I promise," she said, the words feeling meaningless and rehearsed even to her own ears. They had all heard the exact same phrase in the weeks after Alison's disappearance, until too much time had passed and people stopped pretending.

She wondered, morbidly, how long it would take for people to stop pretending this time.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Aaaand there's the end of chapter two! Things are about to get interesting ;)_

 _Also, this story is unbeta'd so all mistakes are mine. I'd appreciate it if you let me know of any mistakes you catch. I try to edit as best as I can, but I'm far from perfect._


	3. Catching Up

**A/N:** Thanks so much for the follows/favourites/reviews (especially the reviews ;) You guys are seriously awesome!

Warning remains for language.

 **"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." - Dr. Seuss.**

* * *

It had been a few minutes and Emily hadn't said a word to her. Alison would look over at her occasionally, but Emily would have her head down, her thick dark locks hiding her face. She was wearing some spare clothes that Alison had stashed at Jonah's house, a simple black long sleeved shirt with ripped denim shorts. It was a good thing they had found some clothes for her to wear, because walking down the street in a bright blue dress would draw way more attention than Alison was comfortable with. But, she figured, Emily hadn't been gone from Rosewood for very long and probably wouldn't be recognized a town over. Alison, however, was currently wearing her Vivian Darkbloom disguise, something that she could see made Emily slightly uncomfortable.

She could always tell whenever Emily was angry at her. She never yelled, screamed or sent angry text messages, that just wasn't the kind of person she was. She hated hurting people's feelings, and would silently steam until her angry slowly faded away and she was able to think rationally. Alison was the complete opposite; she would let people know exactly what she thought of them and how beneath her they were. She would tear people down with words specifically tailored to destroy them. She liked to think that maybe they balanced each other out in a way, Alison didn't let Emily be a push-over and Emily wouldn't let her lose herself to her anger.

Alison found it a minor annoyance that she and Emily didn't get a chance to talk before Jonah had returned and kicked them out. He had always been extremely skittish of Alison being in his apartment, and finally asked them to leave before he started to check under his bed and behind his doors for the police, who he felt were always onto him. She was also slightly thankful that Emily seemed to be distracted by her thoughts, and didn't yet have the opportunity to tear into her about forcing her away from Rosewood for her own selfish reasons.

Her relief was short lived however, when Emily was finally broken from her thoughts and turned her head to look at her. The expression on her face was like she still didn't believe she wasn't dreaming or dead, and that Alison was going to disappear into thin air at any moment. Alison always liked attention, but the way Emily was gazing at her was so intense that she nearly felt like blushing and turning her head away. But, she was Alison DiLaurentis and she wasn't intimidated or embarrassed by anybody, and so she met Emily's stare with one of her own (albeit with a little difficulty).

"Em-"

"What did you mean when you said I couldn't go back?" Emily quickly asked, cutting her off. Alison mentally cursed. So _that's_ what she was thinking so hard about. For some insane reason she had hoped that Emily would have forgotten all about their conversation, and they would have ridden off into the sunset together. But nothing was ever that simple.

"I meant what I said. I've been keeping in touch with a friend in Rosewood, and the situation there is bad Em, really bad," Alison replied. She strategically left out the fact that the friend in Rosewood was Noel Kahn. She figured that would be a little too much information for Emily to handle.

"Wait, so this friend of yours knew you were alive and we didn't?" Emily asked, sounding like a kicked puppy.

"He didn't know that it was me, he just knew me as Vivian," Alison responded, feeling a little disturbed at how easily the lie came to her; Emily seemed to accept her answer anyway, but Alison knew that there would be other questions later.

"Alright, fine. But what makes the situation so bad that I can't go back? My parents are going to be hysterical."

"Listen," Alison started, feeling agitated, "Rosewood is crawling with police, and people are already putting up missing posters. You can't just waltz back into town and pretend that everything is okay!" Emily's eyes widened, and her face was taught with fear and worry.

"No way. This is insane! I've only been gone a day..." she trailed off, breath quickening, and Alison quickly jumped in before Emily talked herself into a breakdown.

"You can't just reappear out of thin air. People are going to ask questions about where you were and how you got there, and you've always been a terrible liar. Please Em, just stay for a while, I promise everything will be alright," she said, trying to make herself sound as convincing as possible. Emily was having none of it.

"What, so I have more time to think up a more convincing lie? Ali, I _can't_ stay, it isn't just my parents who are going to be worried, it's everyone! Don't you understand that?"

"I'm probably the only one who _does_ understand," Alison sighed. "Do you think I liked having to leave my family and friends behind? That I liked leaving _you_ behind? I did what I had to do. Maybe this is what _you_ have to do." Emily looked entirely unconvinced. As the two of them continued to walk, Alison spotted a motel at the end of the block. It was a little shady looking, but it would have to do.

"Come on, we can talk in there," she said. Emily pursed her lips, but offered little resistance as Alison led her to the motel. As they entered, Alison was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't as dirty as it looked on the outside. It wasn't exactly the Hilton, but she doubted they would catch any diseases from staying there. She quickly checked in with the receptionist, a young woman who looked utterly bored, fiddling around on her phone. Making their way down the dimly lit hallway was an awkward affair, Alison made a pathetic attempt at small talk but Emily wasn't in a chatty mood. Alison had gotten used to the musky smell of dust, so she wasn't bothered by the less than up to code state of the motel. Emily however, couldn't resist wrinkling her nose.

As they entered the small room, Alison immediately closed the door behind them and locked it. She turned to see Emily collapsed on the bed, hands covering her face, seemingly overwhelmed. Alison tentatively sat down beside her, and gave a small smile as Emily looked over at her, feeling the dip in the bed. Alison was nervous, incredibly nervous in fact. She had no idea how Emily felt about her, but she was secure in her own feelings. She didn't know if Emily was lucid enough during their kiss to remember it, but a part of her hoped that she didn't remember. Maybe it would give her a chance to kiss her again.

* * *

Emily was sure she was still in shock. She allowed Alison to lead her over the forest green carpeting of the hallway into the room, before she felt like her legs couldn't hold her up anymore. She knew that she should be angry that Alison took her without her permission, and that because of it she had caused a lot of people distress. But all she felt was a cool numbness that swelled out from her chest and eventually covered her entire body. The overwhelming happiness and surprise she had felt from seeing Alison again had seemingly placated her anger for now. She looked up as she felt Alison sit down beside her on the bed, and watched her lean against the headboard, releasing a deep breath. She had to resist the urge to lay down beside her.

In all of the shock and confusion however, there was one question burning a hole in her mind.

"Ali, is this where you've been staying? There's no way you've been hiding away in a _motel_ this entire time," she said. If Alison had really been this close for over a year, Emily would honestly lose it.

"No. I've jumped from place to place, I couldn't stay in one area for too long," Alison answered, a little surprised that Emily was even talking to her at all. "Jonah helped me when he could, but I mostly stayed in places like this and then bailed before I had to pay up. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a warrant out for me somewhere," Alison continued, chuckling. Emily however, didn't find it very amusing.

"How do you even know him? I've never heard you mention him before," she asked.

"I met him after I ran away. I initially just used him for information, but he's actually been pretty helpful," Alison admitted.

"I find it hard to believe that you've only been talking to two people this entire time, Ali," Emily said doubtfully. The Alison she knew had friends everywhere, and was very rarely on her own. Alison looked conflicted, opening her mouth to answer and then closing it as if she was struggling to find the words. After a few moments, she decided to be truthful.

"You're right. I have another friend, her name's CeCe. We've kept in contact," Emily's brow furrowed, she had never heard the name 'CeCe' before, and she couldn't recall Alison ever mentioning another friend outside of the four of them.

"CeCe? How come you've never mentioned her before?" Alison stood up from the uncomfortably bumpy bed, gathering her thoughts for an explanation.

"Because I was... I was scared, alright? CeCe scared me. She wasn't the kind of person I wanted you guys to know." Emily sat up, her gaze quickly turning into one of concern.

"You were scared of her? Why? Did she hurt you?" She asked, her voice tinted with anger.

"No, she never physically hurt me," Alison muttered, a little darkly. She looked away from Emily's face guiltily, unable to handle the amount of caring she saw in her eyes.

"I've known CeCe for a while, since I was thirteen," Alison began.

"Why haven't I ever seen her? Did she go to our school?" Emily asked.

"No. She's the same age as Jason, dated him for a while. That's how we met." Emily nodded slowly, still processing this new information.

"Okay... why are you scared of her then?"

"Scared is maybe the wrong word. My mom said that she always thought our friendship was toxic, and after getting a chance to look at it objectively, I kind of agree with her. I feel like I grew up way too fast because of CeCe, she was older and more mature than I was and I felt like a kid next to her." Alison sighed, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Emily crawled across the bed and sat next to her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Ali, you don't have to talk about her if you don't want to," she said. Alison shook her head, giving Emily a shaky smile.

"It's alright. No more secrets. I'm tired of keeping so many of them to myself," she said truthfully. She shivered as she felt the pressure of Emily's hand on her shoulder lighten, and then disappear as the other girl returned her hand to her lap.

"Imagine me, except a few years older and twice as bad. That's CeCe," Alison smiled wryly, the memories of the older woman quickly coming back to her.

"Every single good and bad thing about me are traits that I learned from her. I was just a kid playing childish games until I met CeCe, and then the games changed. She knows all of my secrets, and I was scared of what she would do with them if she thought I was dead."

"Why do you trust her so much then?" Emily asked.

"It's not a matter of trust. CeCe is just as manipulative and vindictive as I was, and she might have spilled to the nearest person about _everything_ just because she thought it would be funny. But I know things about her too, and I figured that as long as she knew that I was alive and kicking, she'd stay quiet," Emily mulled that information over in her head for a moment, before tentatively answering.

"Don't take this the wrong way Ali, but... you guys sound exactly alike." Alison snorted, feelings of self disgust welling briefly inside of her.

"You sound like my mother. She tried to get me to stop seeing her, but I did anyway. She was too coked up on sleeping pills to notice when I was gone."

"She doesn't sound like much of a friend. Why spend any time with her?" Emily asked, still feeling scandalized that Alison would put her trust in this horrible sounding person instead of her.

"Don't get me wrong, I loved CeCe like she was my sister. As twisted as she is, I knew that she would do anything for me." Emily felt jealousy well inside of her, tinged with a little sadness.

" _I_ would have done anything for you," she replied, in a broken whisper. Alison shook her head, smiling sadly.

"I know you would have, Em. That's what scared me. I could never have asked you to do the things I asked of CeCe; they would have _ruined_ you. I wouldn't be able to look at myself if I did something like that." She had felt momentarily soothed by Emily's familiar touch, but the old fears that had manifested since she first left town were beginning to resurface as the other girl asked more and more questions. Alison was never one to dredge up the past, she very much lived in the moment and didn't like to think of previous mistakes or memories that she would rather forget.

It was true that CeCe had done some questionable things for her, things that sweet, innocent Emily would never be able to accomplish and come out on the other end untouched by the darkness Alison still carried. Despite all of the things Alison put her though, all of the pain and heartache she had suffered at her hands, she still remained optimistic and bright as if she had never met Alison in the first place. She wouldn't have admitted it a year ago, but the light Emily possessed was the only thing that kept Alison from being completely pulled under the dull fog in her brain. Between all of the manipulation, lies and secrets she kept, Emily was like a breath of fresh air. She made her feel like she was a kid again, before she met CeCe, before the Jenna thing and before -A.

"Hey," Emily said, voice soft, "where did you go just now?" Alison shook herself of her thoughts, turning to give Emily a stunning smile.

"Just imagining you on top of the Eiffel Tower. You look even better than I thought you would," Alison replied wryly, her voice light despite what was still on her mind. Emily giggled delightedly, and Alison felt a swell of pride on putting such a beautiful smile on her face. The laughter eventually faded, and the expression on Emily's face turned inquisitive. She didn't know how to put into words what she was thinking without sounding awkward or clingy.

"Ali... did you meet anyone after you left?" She asked, wincing at how her voice came out, trembling and unsure. She knew that if Alison said yes, she had absolutely no right to be jealous, but it wouldn't stop her from feeling it anyways. After all, she had been apart of three relationships after Alison's disappearance, all which ended in miserable failure. She still wasn't certain if they ended because she still had lingering feelings for her first love, but the logical part of her brain knew that wasn't the case. She was just wildly unlucky.

She loved Maya, that she was sure of. Maya was her first real relationship; she didn't really count Ben, as she was using him as a beard (something which still still felt bad about). The dark skinned girl was such a departure from Alison, and as much as it hurt her to say it, she found the change refreshing. With Maya, she never had to worry whether or not she was being used for 'practice' or if the other girl even had real feelings for her at all. Maya had her flaws, sure, but she was always so calm and collected, and made Emily feel safe and secure. It was the complete opposite with Alison. With the blonde, everything was fast paced and exciting, with constant risk taking and danger involved. Where Maya was a cool and brisk sea, Alison was a raging inferno.

Then there was Paige. At first Emily had jumped into the relationship, using the auburn haired swimmer as a rebound to drown out her emotions over having to say goodbye to her first girlfriend. She panicked when she started to develop feelings for the other girl, and let her go at the first opportunity she saw. Paige was a good person at heart, and didn't deserve to be in a relationship with someone who was still in love with two other people and wouldn't ever truly return her feelings. It was difficult, but she knew that Paige was strong and would get over it with time.

When she looked back on her relationship with Samara, sometimes it didn't even feel real. It was so fast and short lived that Emily had trouble remembering it ever happened in the first place. She was drowning in a sea of emotions for three other girls, and Samara was a useful distraction to keep her from doing something more destructive to occupy her time. She was almost grateful to -A for ending their relationship prematurely, as she knew that she would drop Samara as soon as Maya got out of True North. It truly was a shame, because Samara was almost unbelievably perfect. All blonde haired and blue eyed, with a sweet personality and caring nature. In another life, she believed that she would have loved Samara as much as she loved Alison. But her heart wouldn't allow that to happen, and she hated herself for hurting her.

But all of these past relationships ceased to exist in her mind as soon as she saw Alison again. Every thought, every kiss, every touch was wiped from her brain when she looked into the blue eyes of her first love after a year of thinking she was dead. She had dark thoughts of Alison rotting in the ground, having to listen to all of her past victims at school mocking her, saying she got what she deserved. But when she saw Alison alive, with her lightly tanned skin and flaxen hair perfectly intact, her mind went blank. Maya, Paige Samara- they might as well have never existed in the first place, because they didn't hold a candle to Alison DeLaurentis. Emily didn't think that anyone would ever burn as bright as her.

Emily blinked, realizing that Alison was talking to her. They both seemed to be in their own little world, as Alison wasn't looking at her, instead seeming to stare into space.

"-moved around Philly for a while, but I never stayed in one place for very long. I never really got the chance to meet someone I liked, and even if I did it would only be a casual fling before I had to leave again. I've never been into casual relationships unless I got something out of it," Alison's mouth snapped shut, as if she didn't mean to say what she said. She was in a sort of trance and it just... _slipped_ out. She didn't like to talk about how conniving she used to be.

"You had someone, though. Two someones," Alison recovered, quietly.

"How did you know...?" Emily trailed off, the rest of her question clear. She was slightly confused, however, because she had _three_ someones, not two...

"I came back for the first time when Hanna was in the hospital. I didn't know how hurt she was, and I _needed_ to know that she was okay. I saw you, afterwards... you were with Maya. I was trying to keep tabs on you, and saw you with some blonde girl a while later," Alison answered, hesitantly. Emily seemed to accept her answer, until her eyes widened at one small detail.

"Wait, how did you know her name? You couldn't have gotten _that_ close," she asked suspiciously. Alison mentally cursed, the cogs in her brain working to spew out a lie that would placate the caramel skinned girl.

"Ali, you said no more secrets, remember?" Alison felt like snorting, her words always came back to bite her in the ass. She figured she would tell Emily the truth, after all, she had already told her too much anyway, what was the harm?

"Noel Kahn has been keeping tabs on you guys for me. He's known that I'm alive for a while now," Emily's eyes narrowed in anger, huffing out a breath disbelievingly.

"What, so you tell _Noel Kahn_ that you're alive, but not your four best friends?" She demanded, her knuckles white from her tense grip on the bedspread.

"Em, it's not like that. Noel's been helping me out with money, it's not like I can get a job like a normal person!" Emily continued to stare at her, and Alison felt forced to elaborate.

"You have to understand," she said desperately, "I asked Noel for help because _I don't care about him._ I couldn't just ask Spencer to send me money even though she would have had enough, she's my friend and I couldn't exploit her like that." She suddenly saw herself exploiting Aria's father for that exact purpose, the memories flashing briefly in her head. She did that in a moment of desperation, when -A was threatening to kill her and she needed money _immediately._ She wasn't proud of those last few days in Rosewood.

"Well..." Emily started, and Alison was relived at the slow acceptance in her tone, "Noel _is_ kind of an ass. I just wish I saw the look on his face when you showed up from the grave and started hounding him for money." Emily started snickering at the mental image and Alison hesitantly joined in the laughter. Emily a year ago would have torn her apart after giving her the silent treatment for a week over a secret like this. A lot had changed, and Alison regretted not being there to see it happen in person.

"Any other secrets I should know about?" Emily asked lightly. Alison shook her head, still smiling.

"That depends, are there any other girlfriends I should know about?" She joked. Her eyes widened when Emily didn't respond, ducking her head and.. oh god... _blushing._

"Wait, what? Noel didn't mention anyone else..." she said, mostly to herself. Thinking as hard as she could, she couldn't remember Noel mentioning anyone besides Maya and a blonde who he didn't recognize.

"That's because we kept it a secret. I don't know if you know her or not, her name's Paige," Alison's mind immediately went blank, until a sudden rage possessed her so swiftly that even _she_ was surprised by it's intensity.

" _Pigskin?!"_ She shrieked, causing Emily to jump and move away from her in shock. Emily observed the other girl for a moment from her new position; if she were a cartoon, her cheeks would be tomato red and steam would be pouring out of her ears uncontrollably. The image almost made her want to laugh, until the nickname registered in her brain. She had heard Alison use it before, but she had no idea she was referencing _Paige._

"Wait... Paige is Pigskin? Why the hell would you call her that?" Emily demanded, quickly becoming pissed off and feeling the need to defend the other swimmer.

"Because, _she's_ the reason I had that massive bruise on my shoulder after soccer practice! She's a total psycho!" Alison shrieked, and Emily winced. Paige was troubled, she knew that the moment the other girl had tried to drown her over a simple misunderstanding. But it went so much deeper than that, she doubted Paige would give Alison that bad of an injury for no reason.

"Calm down. There's more to it than that, I know there is," Alison's cheeks were still a bright red, but she had stopped breathing harshly through her teeth. Emily took that as a good sign.

"Pigski- _Paige,"_ Alison spat out at Emily's disapproving look, the name leaving a bad taste in her mouth, "would never just let things be. The first time I pushed her, she pushed back twice as hard-" Emily cut her off angrily.

"So what, you bullied her because she stood up to you? That is _so_ fucked up Alison, even for you," the blonde was taken aback, not just by Emily's out of character swearing but also the use of her full name.

"That's not it! She gave me a bruise the size of my head just because I bumped into her with my shoulder in the hallway. I was ready to go to war with that _bitch,"_ Alison hissed, her anger overtaking her once again.

"Jesus Em, you really got around when I was gone, didn't you? Was Paige the first loser you spread your legs for?" She continued, laughing mockingly. The words stabbed Emily like a searing hot knife. Normally she would feel destroyed over a direct insult from the blonde, but now, she just felt a white hot rage swell in the pit of her stomach.

" _Fuck you,"_ she hissed. "Paige treated me better than you _ever_ did! She was in the closet _just like you_ but she was up front about how she felt about me! She never deliberately hurt me after we got together, and if she did she _always_ apologized! She couldn't be true to herself but at least she never used me and then discarded me like a piece of _trash!"_ Emily was yelling now, angry tears welling in her eyes and spilling over onto her cheeks, leaving clear trails in their absence. It felt somewhat liberating to finally take out her frustrations on Alison personally instead of in a note. She never thought she would get the chance without talking to a headstone.

All of Alison's pent up anger seemed to leave her in one, breathtaking _woosh,_ and the gravity of what she had just done nearly crushed her under it's weight. Emily's face was an angry red, her fathomless, dark eyes bright with tears. She had never in her life seen Emily look so _enraged._ All of the times she had hurt her, all of the times she had manipulated her, Emily had never once fought back, just accepted what was going to happen. Alison would have been proud that the other girl had finally grown a backbone if she wasn't currently being hit over the head with it.

"Oh, Christ," she moaned. "Emily, I'm _sorry._ I didn't mean to say that," she watched with despair as Emily stood up, walking with purpose towards the thin, wooden door separating their room from the dingy hallway. Alison leapt up and grabbed her wrist, the breath nearly being knocked out of her as Emily ripped her arm from her grasp and sent her tumbling to the floor. The fog of anger that was currently clouding Emily's mind cleared in an instant; she didn't mean to actually hurt her.

"God damn it," she breathed, rushing over to Alison and leaning down to give her a hand. Alison stared at Emily's outreached arm for a moment, before accepting her hand and allowing the swimmer to pull her up. Emily was strong, she noted, lifting her full weight with ease.

"I think we should sit down," Alison said shakily. Emily rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeve furiously, in an attempt at ridding her face of tears. She always hated looking weak in front of the other girl. Alison, fearful that Emily would try to leave again, gently took the arm that wasn't rubbing at her face and lead her back to the bed. Emily sat down stiffly, but with little resistance.

" _I'm sorry_ ," Alison exhaled, eyes wide and unfocused. She turned her gaze to Emily's face, searching it for a reaction. The area around her eyes and nose was red with irritation, but clearing by the second.

"I'm sorry too," Emily said as a sort of knee-jerk reaction, not sure what else to say. She stared down at the ripped denim of her shorts, playing with a flayed piece of string.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Emily. Who you date is none of my business," Alison muttered cynically. If there was any chance of her rekindling whatever it was that they had, it was gone now.

"I just have one question," Emily said, and Alison looked up hopefully.

"Why did you call her _Pigskin_?" She asked, searching Alison's blue orbs for an answer. The blonde had to resist rolling her eyes, of _course_ her first question would be about Paige.

"Because she had weird bumps on her thighs," she answered timidly. Emily's brow furrowed in confusion, she had seen Paige in her swimsuit many times, and never noticed anything weird about her thighs.

"I think... I think she was hurting herself," Alison admitted, the guilt hitting her like a ton of bricks. "It was because of me," she continued, her eyes growing wide with shame, "It _was_ because of me, wasn't it?" Alison held her head in her hands, unable to look at Emily's face. God, she was just so _horrible._ She never cared about anyone else in Rosewood High, as far as she was concerned, her fellow students were stepping stones to get her where she wanted. She never spoke to anyone without purpose; unless she could get something out of them, they weren't worthy of her attention.

But Paige had _nothing_ to give her.

"You knew that she was hurting herself, and you tortured her over it," Emily said blankly, the emptiness in her voice nearly making Alison sick.

"Emily, _please,"_ Alison started, and the disparity in her voice would have embarrassed her had this been any other situation, "I tortured Paige because I was jealous that I had to compete for your attention. Paige could have gotten you if she built up the courage, and that drove me crazy," Emily continued to stare at the ugly wallpaper on the wall in front of her. Alison's stomach dropped, her brain blanking out as she struggled to find the words to make Emily stay.

"I loved you," she whispered, and her subconscious did a happy dance when Emily's head whipped around, her expression saturated in shock. If Alison looked a little deeper, she could see hope blooming in Emily's onyx depths, age-old feelings coming to the surface.

"I couldn't lose you. I was selfish, I _know_ that. But when I learned that Paige liked you, I didn't listen to my brain. She was a better person than I was, and that terrified me. I _had_ to get rid of her," Alison breathed shakily, her head dipping to hide her face behind her hair.

"I was going to tell you Em, I swear, but then the texts from -A began and they threatened to tell everyone if I admitted anything to you. I _love_ you, Emily," she said, raising her head and smiling joyously at finally being able to _say_ the words after years spent denying herself happiness. She felt the beginning of tears begin to prick the back of her eyes.

" _I love you."_

* * *

" _Fuck_ ," Hanna hissed, quickly raising her thumb to her mouth and sucking on the sudden wound. Spencer looked on in disgust.

"Don't put your hand in your mouth! Don't know how many germs you have on you right now?" Hanna rolled her eyes, sighing exasperatingly.

"No, but I'm sure you'll tell me anyway," Spencer huffed out a laugh, crossing her arms.

"No, I won't. You'll find out after you get sick from inhaling so many of them," Hanna's face screwed up into a repulsed expression.

"Okay, you win, _now_ I'm grossed out." Aria looked at the two of them in amusement, glad at a reprieve from the less than enviable task they were currently working on. They had taken on the job of helping the police put up missing posters of Emily, and she had to will herself every five minutes not to cry. After the first few hours, she was completely secure in the knowledge that Emily was just lost and that she would be home soon. But then Emily's parents landed back in Pennsylvania from Texas, and had immediately demanded missing posters be put up when Emily still hadn't returned. The girl had never been home late a day in her life, and _always_ answered texts from her mother. Something was clearly amiss.

Hanna's expression turned sombre.

"It's weird how familiar this feels," she said quietly. "Like deja vu, only worse, you know? It's been over a year but I feel like we were just doing this yesterday." Aria couldn't help but agree. When she wasn't looking directly at them, it felt like she was pinning up missing posters of Alison, not Emily. _Alison._ The name always brought a sharp pang of sorrow. She hoped against everything that Emily's name wouldn't bring that same pang in the days to come.

"I hate to say this," Spencer started, "but Ali was hated by a _lot_ of people in this town. Emily never hurt anybody, maybe this time people will actually devote some time to find her," she finished bitterly. Aria's expression turned horrified.

"If this is really history repeating itself... do you think Emily was buried alive somewhere?" She asked, resisting the urge to throw up. Hanna shook her head vehemently.

" _No._ No way. I know that -A is a psycho, but Emily is too good of a person to die like that," she said, her voice tinged with denial.

"So what, you think Alison _deserved_ to die like that?" Spencer asked, but there was little malice to her voice, just morbid curiosity. Hanna's eyes widened at what she had implied.

"What? No! Nobody deserves to die like that," she hissed, a little offended that Spencer thought her capable of holding that much hatred towards one of her best friends. Her anger was cut short when her phone went off, and, like dominoes, Spencer and Aria's phones followed suit.

"Oh jesus," she moaned. "Not now, please."

The three girls looked at each other hesitantly and each brought out their phones, eyes gazing down at their screens to read the short message.

 _You aren't as stealthy as you think you are. Next time, try a ski mask. Kisses! -A._

Hanna had to swallow a lump in her throat as she noticed the attachment at the end of the infuriatingly casual text. Her stomach turned with nausea as her thumb pressed the screen and the attachment quickly loaded. She heard Aria gasp next to her; Spencer was silent, nostrils flaring at the picture. It was of the three of them in the dead of night, sneaking out of Emily's house. Aria was the first to crack, nearly on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Oh god. Why didn't we see this happening?! -A is going to send this to the police and-"

"Calm down. This picture doesn't prove _anything,"_ Spencer cut her off. At Hanna's disbelieving stare, she sighed uncomfortably.

"Alright, I'll admit it does _look_ suspicious but it doesn't prove that we did anything wrong." Hanna laughed mockingly.

"Aren't you supposed to be the smart one, Spence? This shows us _breaking and entering._ Wilden is going to be on us like a bloodhound as soon as he sees this picture. That pathetic asshole would nab us for _jaywalking_ if he could."

"Garrett told you that Wilden is just acting as the chief investigator for Ali's case, right? He wouldn't be able to do anything with the picture anyways!" Spencer countered.

"Yeah, but he'll just give the picture to Garrett and we'll be right back where we started!" Aria shrieked, in full blown panic-mode.

"Calm down, Aria. -A hasn't done anything with the picture yet. Let's just wait this out, and see what happens," Hanna soothed, her words falling flat to Aria's ears.

"I'll tell you what's going to happen," Aria began, her words thick, "-A is going to use this as blackmail like they always do! We were screwed before, but now we're _really_ screwed." Hanna attempted to calm her down again.

"-A already had _tons_ of blackmail on us, what's one more piece of ammunition?" She asked, trying to sound optimistic but failing miserably.

"The difference is, -A has an _actual_ crime on us now. If they blab, we could go to jail," Spencer said, her logical tone cutting through Aria's hysterical panic. She seemed completely catatonic, staring at Spencer in horror. Hanna sighed, cynicism crashing over her in waves.

Leave it to -A to make a terrible day even worse.

* * *

(last night)

Mona was panicking.

On the outside she was cool as a cucumber, face perfectly neutral, hiding the storm that was quickly brewing in her head. She had been trying to draw the three girls out, but couldn't figure out a way how without seeming too interested in where Emily had gone. She wasn't certain, but there was a good chance that the three of them knew where Emily was, and were somehow able to keep it hidden from her. Mona wasn't used to being denied information; whatever she needed to know, you could bet that she knew it within the hour. But not this time.

And then, like a gift from god, Lucas had told her that the three girls were heading towards Emily's house. Mona had jumped up from her bed in a rush, sneaking past her slumbering mother and speeding away in her car. This was just the kind of break that she needed. If she somehow gave the girls enough... _motivation,_ there was a good chance they would spill where Emily was to -A.

She couldn't help but laugh gleefully when she caught Aria fumbling around, looking for an extra key to _break into Emily's house._ It was just so delicious, watching the three of them unknowingly screw themselves over. Mona was nothing if not efficient, and unlocked the front door herself with a bobby pin after Aria left with the key. She entered the house quietly, swiftly making her way up the stairs before Aria had even gotten around to the back of the house. Taking out her red lipstick, she scrawled a menacing message on the mirror. It wasn't the most creative thing she had ever come up with, but it would have to do with the short amount of time that she had.

Her head snapped up as she heard the back door creep open, and she knew she only had minutes until she was caught. She heard quiet voices downstairs, but didn't care enough to listen to whatever it was they were saying. She took one last look at the message on the mirror, admiring her work, before she opened the window and climbed down the tree adjacent to the building. She quietly closed the window behind her, and released a relieved sigh when her feet touched the ground. She had been in some pretty tight situations, but _that_ was close, even for her.

The black of her hoodie and cargo pants gave her greater camouflage than a chameleon. She crouched in some far off bushes, waiting for the perfect opportunity to _truly_ nab the three of them. She adjusted her camera, the same one she had used to take hundreds of pictures of Alison. As the three of them exited Emily's house, Mona zoomed in and took the incriminating photos. She waited until they were long gone to crawl out of her hiding place, and took a moment to bask in her success.

She knew it wasn't a concrete plan, but plans made up on the spot never are. She was certain, however, that this threat, just like all the others, would be enough incentive for the girls to bend to her will. It had to work. It just _had_ to.

At first, Mona had been texting Alison to scare her. She had wanted the blonde to feel just a _fraction_ of the fear that she felt whenever she passed her in the hallway, or made eye contact with her accidentally. Alison _deserved_ to feel afraid, she deserved to see what it felt like to be truly terrified. But then someone had ruined the fun.

They had stolen the game from her.

She didn't know who they were. But they knew who _she_ was. At first, she had thought they were Alison, and she was ready to chew her out for even daring to entertain the thought of coming back to Rosewood. But it wasn't Alison; no, it was someone wearing a mask that was eerily identical to her face, with long blonde hair that she wasn't sure was real. They were wearing a stark red coat, the colour of fresh blood.

Mona admired their mystery.

Red Coat was the fuel to her fire, one that would have gone out a _long_ time ago had it not been for them. They had just showed up in her room one night, threatening to tell everyone what she was doing unless she did what they said. She was enraged at their arrogance, she would _never_ allow herself to be pushed around by anyone else after she convinced Alison to disappear. She was finally free, and she enjoyed her freedom.

But she came around, eventually.

Red Coat had whispered her promises, their voice wrapping around her like a snake, dripping with sickly-sweet venom. The rewards they had enticed her with were so alluring, that she had nearly agreed on the spot. However, she needed some sort of assurance that she would never be caught. She needed to feel safe. Red Coat had made her a believer, of course. They were a master manipulator, and had managed to talk Mona into accepting their proposal without actually offering anything. Mona had once thought herself a genius.

She had no idea who she was up against.

Shaking her head, Mona got back into her car and sped off towards her house, pulling into the driveway as quietly as possible as to not wake her mother. She crept up the stairs, careful to avoid the places that groaned when stepped on, and finally sighed in relief at being back in her room. She closed the door behind her and locked the door lock firmly. She then locked the lock above it, and the one above that. What could she say, she was paranoid.

She uploaded the pictures onto her computer, and then downloaded them to her phone, constructing a quick but meaningful text designed to scare the wits out of the three girls. She saved the message as a draft, planning on sending it the next day. She was ready to collapse into bed and call it a night, before she felt her phone buzz in her pocket. Frowning, she looked to see who it was from.

 _Lucas. Wonderful,_ she thought sarcastically. Opening the message, her expression immediately changed to one of delight.

 _I went back to the barn like you told me to. I found Emily's phone, it was ditched on the side of the road. -L._

Mona sent up a prayer, thanking god for making the cops in Rosewood so _stupid_. They had apparently searched the place completely, but some miracle had caused them to miss Emily's phone which was left a bit further from the barn down the road. Mona's night was really starting to look up. If Lucas was right, and it _was_ Emily's phone, the three people she held the most contempt for were about to get some very interesting messages.

Mona smiled to herself. She _always_ came out on top.

* * *

 **A/N:** _Alrighty, so this chapter is an itty bitty 2000 words longer than the last ones. It seems like when I start writing about Emily and Alison, I can't stop o.O_

 _So, who do you guys think Red Coat is going to be? CeCe? Aria? Charles? Inexplicably Harry Potter? Let me know! :)_


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